Medieval History
An unusal project in Leicestershire, England, is hunting down gargoyles in order to help understand the region's gothic art. Project Gargoyle has been set up to create a brand new resource capturing Leicestershire's wealth of medieval sculpture.
The first of its kind in the country, a 50-strong team of volunteers is now in place and busy taking photographs of figurative church carvings such as gargoyles. Around 300 churches locally feature stylised or caricatured human heads and weird and wonderful imaginary beasts which so far, have failed to attract the interests of art historians or specialists.
The information collected through Project Gargoyle, led by volunteer Bob Trubshaw and supported by the County Council, will become a digital resource offering fascinating insights into medieval minds.
Mr. Trubshaw said, "Leicestershire has a wealth of wonderful medieval art decorating its churches but to date, no one knows exactly what we have. Many of these carvings are superb examples of medieval art and deserve to be much better known and understood.
"At this stage we simply do not know how many carvings there - we think there are around 10,000 ranging from gargoyles which are pulling faces or poking their tongues out, to ones depicting fantasy entities such as green men or dragons."
Byron Rhodes, County Council Cabinet Member for the historic and natural environment, added, "This innovative project is run entirely by volunteers and I'd like to thank them for helping to record an important chapter in Leicestershire's art history.
"When complete, it will be a tremendous addition to the county's archives and hopefully inspire other areas to document their medieval carvings in a similar manner."
The Diocese of Leicester, the Diocese of Peterborough and Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society are involved in the initiative which was first set up last year.
For more information on the project, please visit the County Council's website - www.leics.gov.uk/gargoyle or contact co-ordinator Bob Trubshaw on 01509 880725 or email [email protected]
Source: Leicestershire County Council
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Medieval History
Project Gargoyle begins in Leicestershire
The first of its kind in the country, a 50-strong team of volunteers is now in place and busy taking photographs of figurative church carvings such as gargoyles. Around 300 churches locally feature stylised or caricatured human heads and weird and wonderful imaginary beasts which so far, have failed to attract the interests of art historians or specialists.
The information collected through Project Gargoyle, led by volunteer Bob Trubshaw and supported by the County Council, will become a digital resource offering fascinating insights into medieval minds.
Mr. Trubshaw said, "Leicestershire has a wealth of wonderful medieval art decorating its churches but to date, no one knows exactly what we have. Many of these carvings are superb examples of medieval art and deserve to be much better known and understood.
"At this stage we simply do not know how many carvings there - we think there are around 10,000 ranging from gargoyles which are pulling faces or poking their tongues out, to ones depicting fantasy entities such as green men or dragons."
"When complete, it will be a tremendous addition to the county's archives and hopefully inspire other areas to document their medieval carvings in a similar manner."
The Diocese of Leicester, the Diocese of Peterborough and Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society are involved in the initiative which was first set up last year.
For more information on the project, please visit the County Council's website - www.leics.gov.uk/gargoyle or contact co-ordinator Bob Trubshaw on 01509 880725 or email [email protected]
Source: Leicestershire County Council
- Warwickshire Manorial Records Going Online
Fines for playing tennis, selling shoes before o?clock in the afternoon, or being an ale house haunter, are just some of the penalties in force in Warwickshire 600 years ago. Documents detailing such historical gems can be found in the Warwickshire Manorial...
- More Details On The Bosworth Battlefield Location
Leicester County Council has released more news about the precise location of one of Britain?s most famous medieval battlefields. The latest discoveries, announced by Leicestershire County Council pinpoint the exact location of Bosworth Battlefield,...
- Relics From Pilgrimages Found From Medieval Leicestershire
During the Middle Ages Leicestershire people made difficult journeys to distant religious shrines but this important spiritual activity never reached the history books. Now, work by metal detectorists around the fields of Leicestershire is recovering...
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Medieval bridge timbers found in Leicestershire are being preserved, thanks to sugar. British Sugar has supplied more than 40 tonnes of liquid sugar to Leicestershire County Council, free of charge, to preserve an 11th century bridge discovered in Hemington....
- The Route Of Medieval Churches In Szatmár County
Csengersima, parish church A major research project, aimed at surveying and documenting the churches of medieval Szatmár country, was completed last week, and its results are now largely available on the web. As the territory of medieval Szatmár...